Verizon CEO: 'Technology Will Make Hulu Irrelevant'

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/11/20/Verizons_SeindenberPaley_Center_IC2009_Verizon_Viac...

Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, defends his statement that "technology will make Hulu irrelevant." He responds by saying that while Hulu's flexibility appeals to the modern consumer, he thinks that "in two years it Hulu won't matter."

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The Paley Center for Media's International Council 2009 NYC brought together the industry's top innovators from across the globe for the most talked about media event of 2009.

The session features a conversation between Ivan Seidenberg (Chairman and CEO, Verizon Communications) and Philippe Dauman (President and CEO, Viacom Inc.). David Faber (Anchor, CNBC) moderates. - Paley Center for Media

Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, was instrumental in forming the company through a number of mergers and acquisitions, including Bell Atlantic and NYNEX (1997), GTE (2000), and MCI (2006). He also helped create what is now Verizon Wireless in 1999 by bringing together the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, GTE Wireless, and the US properties of Vodafone AirTouch.

Prior to the creation of Verizon, Mr. Seidenberg was chairman and CEO of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX. He began his communications career more than forty years ago as a cable splicers assistant. In 2007, President George W. Bush named Seidenberg to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, which advises the president on communications issues related to national security, emergency preparedness, and the protection of critical infrastructure. He is a member of The Paley Center for Medias Board of Trustees.

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[xkeltoix]

not true; they dont collapse. They hire the government to come in and complain about intellectual property abuses.

The biggest companies in our country hate the internet, because its a TRUE free market. One where they cant force themselves to matter more than everyone. No longer will their news sway us, and their "entertainment" dim our wits.

[cyberdaemon]

Hes idea is probably "we should build more walls" , because if everyone on a street watches some show on a random wall , we will run out of walls very fast :P

[mraybeck]

Corporate Greed Pig, big phony piece of shit, Ivan $18 million a year! Is he curing Cancer? Curing AIDS?....NO? Then WTF is he being overpaid so much for?

[misarablesquad15]

Verizon SUcks Dan Hesse nuts!!!!!!!!! >:)

[Consumerofknowledge]

Version, why do you rip off your costumers? Or why do you often overcharge people? and the roaming issues with phones is utterly annoying. But, every cel phone corporation, probably, over charges people.

[Consumerofknowledge]

@bigsteelguy The internet of things. Regular telephone polls will become information terminals, and watch you.More Cameras will go up, new types of INSANE hyper cameras will come on the scene(advanced insane cameras), and video games will reach an INSANE peak of amazement.

[ihamoitc2005]

He's babbling about things he doesn't understand. Most of these MBA types are pretty much the same, like generic breakfast cereal. Same process, same analysis, same conclusions.

Fact is that Verizon got caught with it's pants down by over-extending itself with it's FiOS rollout resulting from over-estimating their ability to take marketshare from cable companies.

[galenhenn]

Its not more efficient to stand at a wall to watch a crappy video projection for even 5 minutes. How about sound? If any thing happens technology wise, hulu can be adapted to its specifications; new tech will not make hulu irrelevant in the future until content is not seen by a 2D format.

[Darusdei]

@galenhenn, content provider which in a very short time is yesterdays news because there is something that is more efficient at it

[galenhenn]

This explanation makes absolutely no sense, nor does that sixth sense video. People watch hulu because it offers content for free w/commercials; meaning you don't have to pay for the content if you don't have the money. New technology means new ways of paying or seeing content; content will cost money either way and will not make hulu irrelevant because hulu is just content provider, like any media system. There is nothing to stop hulu from adapting to new tecnology either.

[CptCrash21]

yeah, I think that's probably right. I kinda figured that's what he was driving at, but "irrelevant" was probably a poor choice of words.

[kevintype]

CptCrash, his point is not that this specific technology will make Hulu irrelevant. Sixth Sense technology is only one example of the current pace of change.

These many rapid changes, all happening together, are what will change the media landscape so much that Hulu becomes irrelevant.

He doesn't seem to be saying that Hulu will be dead or gone, but simply no longer a subject of so much concern and discussion for the major media companies.

(If we're lucky, they'll have newer worries soon.)